Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Unless you've spent the last week or so living beneath a rock somewhere deep inside the Angeles National Forest, you are quite aware of the letter the City of Sierra Madre sent out on the riveting topic of "Mandatory Water Conservation." We all got one of them, and quite a few people are very unhappy about what they've read there.

For many residents The Letter (as I've taken to calling it) doesn't just dictate how much of your daily water usage absolutely must be curtailed, but it is also a demand that they change the way they live their lives. And have for most of their adult years. Not something you would normally expect to find in a letter from the Water Department.

So what I thought we'd do today is invite you, our fellow City ofSierra Madre water customer, to share the contents of your "Mandatory Water Conservation" notice with everyone here.

You can do this anonymously, of course. We here at The Tattler strongly support anonymous posting because what we actually want to know are your thoughts and ideas about whatever concerns we might happen to be discussing at the time. Or even those issues we're not talking about.

It is what truly matters here. We believe in putting your ideas above and beyond mere personalities. That plus it really upsets the critics of this blog, which is always an added enjoyment for me.

So in order to kick this thing off properly I thought that I should reveal to you what the City's letter dictated to the Crawford family. But first I need to share with you a little bit of annoying gardening information. I am a lousy gardener, and I feel about yard work pretty much the same way I feel about nausea. It is something I don't enjoy going through, though I will admit that I usually feel much better once it is over.

I have owned four homes in my life, and I have never once grown a decent lawn. I just look at the stuff and it dies. So a little less than a year ago my wife Lorrie and I made the bold decision to tear the treacherous green menace out of our front yard and replace it with something called CaliforniaNative Plants. It was a new concept to me. Growing up in New Jersey I was never made aware of native New Jersey plants, but maybe that is because they are all weeds and nobody likes them. I think dandelions are native there. And skunk cabbage, which I enjoyed playing with as a child.

On the advice of friends we went to a place in Sun Valley called the Theodore Paine Society, which specializes in nothing but "natives." And a large percentage of these native California plants are drought resistant, which I soon discovered means they do not require very much water. Many of them are subtle looking things, and don't really jump right out at you in quite the same way a few trays of daffodils or geraniums might.

I decided that this must mean they are horticulturally sophisticated, and when I asked the people who work there about my impression they agreed. These folks showed us quite a lot of greenery, and patiently explained the virtues of each of these hardy plants. They are a little bit fanatical about this stuff actually, so I of course immediately liked them. Obscure causes lived out by idiosyncratic individuals for no apparent or truly meaningful purpose has always appealed to me. Life is an improvisation, whether you believe in God or not. Which I do. But you should go wild anyway.

We dropped a couple of hundred bucks on about 20 of these odd looking plants, drove them home in our windstorm battered Saturn Vue, and then quickly stuck them into the ground. Most lived. I am still amazed and delighted.

I've digressed radically. The upshot of all of this errata is we don't water anymore. At least we haven't in the last year, and probably won't ever again. These California native plants (and the weeds that look a lot like them, at least to me) continue to grow without the least bit of care from me. And while our front yard does look a little bit otherworldly, for the first time in my life I am proud of my gardening. These are my kind of plants.

So what are our "mandatory water conservation" numbers? They're apparently very low. Since we've stopped pouring tap water out onto our uncooperative yard, usage of the stuff has gone way down. And since we did all this around 10 months ago, the timing couldn't have been better for us as far as the city's shenanigans go.

Here is how it was put to us in our version of "The Letter" - Your base year average bi-monthly consumption is 14. This results in your conservation target of 13. For comparison purposes only, your bi-monthly consumption according to the most recent billing was 11.
The less money I send to this City, the better I feel. Have I ever told you what City Hall would be without our money? Just another small group of people with opinions. That is my goal.

So I have now confessed all. What are your numbers, and how do you think you got there?

169 comments:

3 adults, no lawn, reduced outside watering in winter so our last two cycles were 8 and 10. Our average for the target year minus 20% gives us 24 units. We were over watering for erosion control of a hillside during the target year and will have to dial back on that this summer.

I've always been told it is the most densely populated state in the country. Small and with a lot of people. There are some places up in Sussex County, and down along the Delaware River on the west that might qualify. There are also what are known as the Pine Barrens. I don't know though. It isn't my impression, but then maybe I wasn't looking at it that way back then.

3 adults, no lawn, no in-ground plantings, occasional watering of about a dozen small pots, no dish washer, 3 to 4 loads of laundry weekly, 7 - 10 showers and 2 baths weekly. Our number is 14. Actually, with no changes in habits or usage, last month's water consumption was 2 x the consumption of a year ago. We've now asked twice for an explanation and none is forthcoming.

We have a garden and a lawn.......and 5 family members who shower daily. No special toilets or shower heads. We do have a drip system for our garden and both our dishwasher and washing machine conserve water (and don't really wash well)- but we use them both once a week (3 loads of laundry). We never wash our cars. Our base was 51 so we're getting charged up the $#&%$$#. I threw the letter out I was so mad.

I know the racetracks do this green dye, they use it on their turf courses in warm weather. They have been doing it for decades. I used to watch them do it at Hollywood Park...the spray trucks would go over the grass spraying green food coloring.

The wife and I have a big yard and three kids. we are fussy, so we keep the yard immaculate and green. this helps fight global warming by sucking vast amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere. because we are fussy we keep our cars clean. i wash them myself as i enjoy work. we are, if i may be so modest, immaculately groomed. every last one of us. we really have no interest in living like hillbilly hippies. also john, i have seen your yard. let's just say it's not a good advert for native landscaping.

now for the nasty details. our 20% reduction drops us to 41 units. in winter we used about 34 units a month. so while the aquafir is being replenished we need not conserve at all. unfortunatley, in the summer months we used up to 90 units. i have already taken steps such as acting like a lazy ass and going to the car wash. and by cutting watering down to 1 day a week. and by limiting bowell movements to every third day. still, there is no way on God's heretofore green earth that we can cut our usage by over 50%.

there is only one solution: A RECALL. to make this possible i will spare chris koerber (though he is complicit in this) solely so that his lovely spouse can aid in the process.

Walsh and Moran need to be dumped in the April 2014 election. Things have never been as bad as they are now, and it all happened on their watch. Personally I think the only hope this city has is Capoccia and Koerber. Can you imagine if all we had on the council were Walsh, Moran and Johnny Me First? Might as well just turn out the lights and leave town.

Your lawn is a negligible carbon sequester, better... big trees, several species top the list. Native plantings are going to look dried out and weary in the hot summer months by nature's design. Having a landscape that looks like Hawaii or the NW coast takes more water than we have at the moment.

The real problem is:1. The water hogs who consume over 20 units per capita regardless of season. According to Inman there are many and they have suddenly(last few months) started this behavior(Implausible!).Why weren't they warned or fined before we reached crisis stage??

2.Non native trees like Ash ,Elm, Willow - giving them endless water so they overgrow. Trees are just giant ,natural water pumpers. They drain the aquifer by sucking up the water and it is used/transpires from the leaves.A large tree may consume 50-100 gallons per day.This is very useful if you want to drain a swamp with Willows but.......

Solutions?The artificial grass works well.A neighbor installed it a year ago and it still looks great.Eliminate permit fees(but require Inspection) for Grey Water irrigation.This helps restore the aquifer.Identify and encourage immediate removal of non-native or water hog trees. Replace with more water-wise choices.

Lets be about solutions, not just complaining?All the usual low-flow/drip/short flush irrigation/appliance ideas.

Kids will need many more baths after playing in the dirt yards.Floors will require more mopping because of the dirt that will be tracked into the house.Gardeners will loose their jobs.Property values will drop.But new houses will be allowed.

If you voted for Joe Mosca, John Buchanan, Nancy Walsh, Josh Moran or John Harabedian, you really need to pay your water fines twice. Once for use, and once for being the kind of idiot that votes against their own interests.

This approaches dry camping where you are very careful having carried all your water with you into the wilderness. Couldn't drink from the lakes or streams (giardia) so you boiled water, extra stove fuel needed, or you used purification tablets.

From a link to the City of Berkeley web site, www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Planning/Energy_and_S...Energy &Sustainable Development, Home Graywater Collection Systems....end of third paragraph link to the following "Ch. 16A of the California Plumbing Code where I took the following couple of paragraphs:

The emergency graywater regulations, which added Chapter 16A "Nonpotable Water Reuse Systems" into the 2007 California Plumbing Code, were approved by the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) on July 30, 2009. The emergency regulations were subsequently filed with the Secretary of State on August 4, 2009, effective immediately upon filing.

In compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, HCD prepared a “Certificate of Compliance” confirming the completion of the rulemaking process, which included a 45-day public comment period, a subsequent 15-day comment period, a Final Statement of Reasons and the Final Express Terms.

The "Certificate of Compliance", along with the Final Express Terms, was unanimously approved by the CBSC and filed with the Secretary of State on January 27, 2010. With the rulemaking action complete, Title 24, Part 5, Chapter 16A, Part I emergency regulations of the 2007 California Plumbing Code were made permanent.

We have 4 people, a dog, and a koi pond. Grass for the kids to play on in front and back. Almost no other water needing landscaping anywhere else. Itty bitty (about 4sq feet) garden. Grass is watered minimally, we have a dishwasher and HE front loading washer, about 7 loads of laundry per week. 1 shower and 1 group bath per day. We also cloth diaper (gasp, because the idea of throwing thousands of pounds of poopy diapers in a landfill makes me sick). Our number is 28.

We have decided to let the dog lick the plates instead of rinsing them. No flushing pee. Shorter showers, less water in the baths. Shortened duration and number of days for all sprinklers (again).

Seriously though, the city pisses me off. City parks should have all watering halted. All parkways should no longer be watered. No new water meter permits should be issued. All construction, even if approved, should be immediately halted. Close the city pool. Let all those bump outs dry out and die. There should be no green grass in front of any city buildings, especially City Hall. The water conservation measures are extreme and draconian. Threatening citizens with flow restrictors if they are over their allotted number? Beyond insane. How about some common sense. Lets see support and encouragement for people who are trying and get their numbers down significantly, even if they don't get them all the way down. Take into consideration the billing period for the same time last year.

And for God's sake, I say it again, NO NEW WATER METER INSTALLATIONS IN THIS TOWN WHILE WATER RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!

Beyond Insane. You're right, 1:14pm. A town with a serious water shortage shouldn't be building anything. And, the whole 'Mandatory' thing is a bit too dictator-ish for me. What happened to 'consent of the governed'? The post describing the City's declaration of war on the residents is exactly on point. Seriously, can't we declare an emergency and suspend the City Manager and Council? Our 'Bell' is ringing off the hook.

Cactus is not the only plant that is drought tolerant. The bow outs are close to draught tolerant. There are plans to replace City Hall lawn with drought tolerant. Want to help? Looking for volunteers. I can't say I'm for not watering the park lawns. There has to be a limit somewhere. And where are our kids going to play? I say keep the parks green. It is not going to kill us to be more tolerant ourselves for the time being. Whining is not going to give us any more water, and nowadays, people just don't seem to follow rules unless there are fines attached.

We're on a lot with three townhouses, and our conservation target number for all three is 39. Since we have a baby on the way (and already have a toddler) I've been considering attending tonight's meeting simply to apologize profusely for failing to use contraception in anticipation of Sierra Madre's diminishing water supply, and to leave a blank check with them to spare the extra step.

"TRUST" that went out the window when police were arresting long time politician's in near by cities. Knowing all to well these crooks were reading from the same play book and making strange noises when it came to answering simple questions, like "where did the money go."?

If we have a water crisis, if the residents must curtail usage, give up their lawns and gardens, and otherwise be mightily inconvenienced by the City's water mismanagement, then WHY are we still selling water to Arcadia? When the populace is down to rationed drinking/toileting water will we still be sending our precious resource nto Arcadia's reservoir?

"... a rapid rise in population growth is putting a strain on dwindling clean water supplies. In some regions, the available water cannot support the existing population."

Since we're being told by 'city officials' that we live in one of those water-impaired regions, what is the logical and responsible thing to do? Add to our population? No! Sorry, wrong answer. The correct answer was: DO NOT add to our population. Moratorium on building, starting now. Just say 'Whoa!' (The other correct answer was: Clean up and remove sources of water pollution for your city. Start with City Officials.)

Hah 6:48, I feel sorry for people like the Edison speaker. They are just slugging out an unpleasant task in their job descriptions, and they are speaking to a group of people who won't hardly hear them.

Johnny Process thought the school celebration was great.Hey, he wants residents to keep communicating about water conservation, and he "understands where people are coming from."Oh yuck. He's gonna use resident outrage to further his career.

The mailer is a perfect example of clueless leadership: it's a waste of money, beside the point, and out of touch with residents' needs. Save the postage and the paper and the labor costs-- residents are picking up the tab for it and we don't want our money spent on crap like that. And by 'crap' I mean a 'moronic gesture which is just another item on a very long list titled Reasons The Council Has to Go'.

A citizen is suggesting taking away the right to decide what happens with the water from the gov - and giving it to a new volunteer committee.My question is did he come up with it himself, or is this a council feed?

Look, it has been posted since the Farmer's Market started on that street that you can't park there on Wednesday afternoons. 96 years old or not, she parked where she shouldn't have on Wednesday afternoon. I have sympathy for her, I got a parking ticket and was towed in a spot which was clearly posted in another city. But, police didn't know that that car was owned by a 96 year old citizen, and really, age is no excuse. Sorry I know you all disagree, but age is no excuse.

Does anybody upthere, ovrthere. downthere think? Lets ok an Assisted Living Facility, two Mouintain divisions and a DWP hookup Then ration water to the "stupids". This whole thing "sucks". Our City Council behind City Mgr Aguilar has interests other than Water. Its just a means to an end. Raise Hell Sierra Madre, Its your dime.

Hooray! A middle school for Sierra Madre! that means safe class rooms, baseball fields, and computer labs for the children.Sierra Madre kids and parents showed up in force! Thanks to all who helped. The vote was 5 yes, 1 no, and 1 board member was absent.

How dare Nancy Walsh spew her uninformed nonsense regarding the qualifications of the General Plan Update Committee. She stated that it was the city that got the meetings televised so it would be transparent. The committee asked for that so the community could follow along better. The committee asked for additonal meetings so they could proceed more rapidly and that was met by a NO as it would take up too much staff time yet there is staff all over the place at meetings where they are not needed as Elaine is such a micromanager she cannot let an underling answer a question without her interferrence.

Where was Walsh when the 1996 General Plan was created? All she has to do is look at the credits given for the participants and she will see that it was the work of the citizens of the city of Sierra Madre, then, as it should be now. This consultant firm at the cost of $200,000.00 (the exact amount was quoted by Capoccia) could not do the work without the imput of the volunteers. Much of the data procured by the consultant had to be reworked as it was boiler plate and did not match the facts on the ground.

I channel surfed away for a minute so missed the racial statement, but given the distain that I just heard in the voice of the mayor as she read the names of the next three in line to speak, she soured with the mispronounciation of Ms Lopez who is just about to speak.

When is she not hideous? This woman is a total disgrace to Sierra Madre, and talking to people who have worked with her, even years ago, she always has been a very nasty person. It's not just dementia....she was always like that.

I live in a condo. 6 units, lawn and garden. Our bi-monthly average is 57. The problem is that the meter was misread in the last 4 bimonthly periods of our base year. Each of those 4 readings was low by a factor of 10. If the readings are corrected, our average goes up to 125. That's consistent with other years. I wonder if this happened to anyone else?

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